Since the first academic year of the Cervantes Institute of Warsaw, inaugurated in 1994, the number of enrolled students has grown by 766%, rising to a total of 2.722 enrollments.
Abel Murcia, the center's director, explains that "interest in Spanish culture and language has multiplied in recent times, and proof of this can be seen in the significant presence of Spanish and Spanish-speaking works in bookstores and film festivals."
The cultural activities of the Cervantes Institute in Warsaw are closely linked to those of the Spanish Embassy in the same city, as they have collaborated on numerous occasions. These activities include a very attractive program of events for 2004, in which the center will pay special attention to literature and translation. "Music has always been present in the activities of the Warsaw branch, to the point that, as far as the guitar is concerned, we have often been told that without the Institute's work it would be difficult to understand the boom in the study of this instrument in Poland," Murcia remarks.
Furthermore, the center's work is characterized by being a benchmark in the dissemination of the Spanish language and culture not only in Warsaw, but also in the rest of the country and in the Eastern and Central European region.
The director points out that the connection established with Spanish companies operating in the country is not very significant. In this regard, he notes that "in the cultural sphere, Spanish companies, unlike companies from other countries and their corresponding cultural institutes, have not paid much attention to the activities of the Cervantes Institute or other Spanish cultural institutions." Murcia asserts that "we have barely received sponsorship from a few small companies, more due to the owners' personal interests than because language and culture are among the activities that Spanish companies typically consider important."
It is necessary to consider the established and growing cultural presence of Spain and Latin America in Poland, which implies an ever-increasing spread of Spanish. However, there is an emerging Spanish business presence that contrasts with the cultural sphere. "This imbalance prevents us from making a precise assessment, which will be possible as Spanish companies become more established in Poland and play a significant role in the dissemination of the language and culture," concludes the director of the Warsaw center.
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